Here are Kathryn Doubrley's classes for the September seminar in Raleigh:
Kathryn Doubrley bio:
I live and work in an old house in the small town of Crawford, GA. I bought my first
knitting machine in the 1980's. I wanted to knit the kind of sweaters I was seeing for sale
and could not afford to buy.
That machine was so dumb! I called it every name in the book. There was nobody near
me who had even heard of a knitting machine so I learned painstakingly from books and
by trial and error. But I did learn and added many machines to my collection. I finally
discovered guilds and seminars and really made progress. After many years, I got out that
original HK100. Goodness it had learned a lot! It works great now and I still have it.
Remembering how challenging it was to learn to machine knit in isolation, I always enjoy
teaching now, with special empathy for beginners. I write and design regularly for
Country Knitting of Maine News and Views magazine. It's lots of fun and keeps me
always looking for new ideas to develop in knitting. I also sell patterns and knitting
supplies from my website www.theanswerlady.com have an active Youtube channel
called “The Answer Lady Knits” and enjoy sharing with other needle-workers via yahoo
groups.
Ask Jack: Kathryn’s husband husband, Jack Doubrley has spent his career fixing
everything from airplanes to lawn mowers. He now applies his extensive mechanical
knowledge to knitting machines and helps knitters as “Ask Jack”. He’ll have a table
where you may consult with him about your mechanical issues. If you have a machine
that is malfunctioning, bring it along and he’ll have a look at it. If you cannot bring it,
bring pictures and a clear description of the issue. Consultation and minor matters will be
handled at no charge. If more extensive work is required, Jack and the knitter will discuss
terms and agree upon how to handle the matter. Jack has made several videos that appear
on my channel. These will give you examples of his work.
Below is a list of classes that I offer. All of them are suitable for all gauges and
brands of knitting machines.
Great Knitted Gifts
A great knitted gift has wide appeal, easy to fit or requires no fitting and is modest
enough in time and yarn investment that you can give it with pleasure. In this class we
look at a number of things that make great knitted gifts and knit one or two of them right
in class.
Fuzzy Logic is a discussion about working with furry yarns. I find that knitters feel much
more confident in using them after seeing and feeling the process so we’ll knit a scarf in
class and one of the knitters will take it home. This class shows how to choose a furry
yarn that will succeed on the machine, how to knit it on any gauge of machine and how to
finish fur projects to maximize their fluff. We’ll also look at several fur knitting projects.
Socks of All Sorts There is more than one way to knit a sock! Some ways don’t require a
ribber or moving batches of stitches. We’ll look at the many approaches to knitting
socks. I bring samples of all styles and usually can knit 1 or 2 in class
Knitting and Sew On. Is NOT typical cut and sew but instead a demo of professional
sewn finishes on knits. I bring samples to show and discuss and I bring a sewing machine
along and demonstrate any techniques that interest right in class.
I feel like Felting covers the principles of felting and a demo of how the oddly knitted
shapes become felted items. There are some basic principles that apply to all felted
projects. We cover those, knit a few samples and look at many felting projects including
shoes, jackets, mittens, purses, hats and more. Usually I put a pair of outdoor soles on a
pair of felted shoes in class. This involves using stinky glue so we can leave it out if
anyone has a problem with that.
Circular Logic is a class based on patterns that begin with circles rather than rectangles
as the main building block of the body shape. It covers the Merry-
Go-Round sweater and Circular Logic which is a book of sweaters knitted with circular
yokes. These are simple to knit but the concept of its construction is so unusual that
knitters benefit from seeing it work in person. We de-construct and re-construct a miniversion
of Merry-Go-Round to make things clear. Also covered are multiple short-rowing
techniques because these are needed for creating the yoke.
Crazy for Cables demonstrates a whole bunch of ways to get a cabled look besides the
classic cable. We include: reversible cables, wanderlust cables and faux cables that may
be created without crossing stitches. I bring a lot of samples and demonstrate knitting as
many of them as time permits.
Snug as a Bug: Learn to make cocoon style sweaters where a simple rectangle becomes
and amazingly good-looking jacket. These are wonderful because they fit nearly everyone
plus they are easy and flattering. In class, we'll examine several samples, pass them
around and try them on. You'll learn the principles that make a cocoon jacket work so that
you can go home and design your own or knit one of the designs in my book Snug as a
Bug which includes several complete patterns plus universal fill-in-the-blank patterns so
that even the arithmetic-impaired can design successfully using any yarn and machine.
